Wednesday, 11 September 2013

Reenergizing Young Women’s
Movements

“What was this inner drive or feeling that made you do what you did?” – Generation
Alive member

“We did what we did because what we had was more than just passion; we
felt this thing in our stomachs that made us so angry and we just wanted to see
things change. The inception of Katswe sisterhood was characterized by mad
boldness.” – Rudo Chigudu at the GAL-Katswe Exchange

For most members of Generation Alive, these were the words that resonated
most during the first ever Katswe-GAL exchange in April this year. “Mad
boldness,” can be a difficult concept to embody in our activist work, no matter
what context we come from. But opportunities like the exchange, that allow for
feminist women to come together to share strategies, develop critical analyses
of the struggles faced by young women in the southern African region, ground
our feminist thinking and understanding of power, inspire sisterhood and
unleash our creativity are invaluable.

The exchange was an inspiring and rejuvenating process for Generation
Alive and their sister-organisation in Zimbabwe, Katswe Sistahood.

As part of its commitment to creating opportunities for connections and
shared-learning across borders, JASS Southern Africa supported an exchange
process between Generation Alive (GAL) in Zambia and Katswe Sistahood. The
exchange formed part of GAL’s Organizational Development Retreat, bringing
Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Coordinator, Rudo Chigudu, to Lusaka to
share and learn alongside fifteen GAL members.

During their journey Rudo shared her story with her Zambian sisters within
a safe, intimate circle that allowed for open sharing, honesty and deep
reflection.

Rudo’s story about the Katswe journey did not only inspire but brought to
light the magic that lies in building on what women know from their own lives
and are already doing, and creating safe spaces that allow for a process where
women engage with difficult and taboo subjects like the sexual reproductive
health challenges of sex workers and LBT (Lesbian, Bisexual and Transsexual
people).

“Women kept on
coming for these meetings because it was a space where they could discuss their
challenges with other women. They felt that they owned the space, they were
identifying and defining their own problems and discussing how best to deal
with them.” – Rudo Chigudu

Prioritizing reflection, dialogue and sharing, the exchange tapped into
and catalyzed energy—the kind of energy that can happen when a diverse group of
women come together to talk and think about the injustices they face in
everyday life. Within the safe space, GAL members could openly reflect about
the kind of strategies that work well in the Zambian context and think through
what that means for the collective going forward.

Some members of
Generation Alive shared their thoughts and feelings about the process:

“I was motivated by
the deeply rooted passion within Katswe Sisterhood that got them to even
utilize their own personal resources to run activities and their ability to
share responsibilities and foster collective action, unity and sisterhood.”- Lindsay
– Generation Alive member.

“I was particularly motivated by the boldness and courage to stand by
what they believe in and the principles they work with……” Namakando- Generation Alive member.

“The process got us to think through ways of how to be united despite our
diversities as a feminist collective while keeping an agenda that acknowledges
diversity and power dynamics “ - Nana Zulu

“I was particularly
excited to learn ideas of how GAL can shift its ways of organizing, and to gain
hope from the similarities between us and Katswe like the way personal
resources of individuals were used to conduct Katswe activities, just as
Generation Alive is doing, and just like Katswe, the way Generation Alive, was
eventually registered due to challenges in securing resources and in holding
meetings freely- due the enactment of the public order act.” – Wala
Nalungwe-

Generation Alive
members were also excited to share their journey with Katswe which also allowed
them to check in on where GAL is. Likening their journey to a small flame that
is slowly turning into a fire, the Generation Alive team shared the journey of
GAL with deep felt passion.

“In the start Generation Alive was particularly
passionate about getting young women into decision making spaces, but
eventually after several series of spaces where young women met, talked openly,
cried and laughed together, Generation Alive shifted its focus from penetrating
into decision making spaces to sexual reproductive health and rights for young
women. This shift was based on personal and political experiences of womanhood,
where most experiences told the story of a woman who lacked bodily autonomy and
integrity.” -Generation Alive member.

“We
are still burning with passion, we are still determined to light up the lives
of many young African women who are in the darkness of oppression”- Generation
Alive member.

Sunday, 24 March 2013

When her wedding day is in the horizon she is made to be
'taught' about womanhood and how to 'look after a man', yet most of the
alangizis (traditional councillors) that I have met from my relative's kitchen
parties are women who either have broken marriages or have never been married
before.....yet for the sake of keeping traditions alive we are made to heed to
everything they 'teach'. And to me it seems that the so called training and
initiations are one-sided, which I think greatly undermines the roles men can
play in society, because as a result many men in Zambia lack initiative, have
no respect for their wives and cheat on them like their lives depended on it,
and keep entrenched stereotypical gender roles that make them believe they
cannot do the dishes, cook a meal for their families or baby sit the baby. In
essence, they appear to be taught that women are simply there to serve them (at
your service). In such situations, women are actually taking on the majority of
a relational burden and if they becomethe breadwinners of the family, and then they get criticised for being
"disrespectful" and "not behaving like a woman" when they
challenge a man's incompetence.

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

African Renaissance & the Future Young African
Women Want:

Our
Commitments, Priorities & Recommendations

Preamble

We the young women from more than
20 countries convened in the Young Women’s Forum on 21 January 2013 the margins
of the 20th African Union Summit under the theme: “Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance”,
committed to defining the future we want.

We are women, we are citizens and
we are young. We come in our diversity as young women who are single, married,
widowed, we are mothers and sisters. We are working women, we are
entrepreneurs, innovators, unemployed, we are living in the streets and we are in
international business. We come with our diversity of sexual identity, we are
women in sex work, we are women living positively with HIV; and disabilities,
we are migrants, we are refugees and we are from the diaspora. We are Africa.
We draw on the aspirations of our ancestors, the richness of our cultures and
the roundedness in the spirit of Ubuntu.

As young women we celebrate:

·We celebrate, the African Union
for the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality and the Africa Protocol on
Women’s Rights in Africa; as well as the Africa Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child. We want to celebrate the application of the gender parity
principle in the African Union Commission.

·We celebrate Africa for trusting
a capable African leader, mother and elder, Dr Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma, the
first woman to lead the African Union Commission. We commit our availability,
expertise, commitment and support in leading African Renaissance.

·We celebrate the recent trend in
increased numbers of women in senior leadership positions such as Heads of
State; in parliaments, commissions, in diplomatic services and other spaces of
decision making in our communities. However, this trend is too slow and
insufficient considering that women comprise fifty two percent of the
population. Increased number of women in decision making encourages young women
and girls to aspire on their own dreams.

·We celebrate the positive strides
in progress in education for the girls; the reduction in prevalence in HIV
especially among women, some notable increase access of health facilities in
some countries. Technology and mobile telephony has increased access to
information, access to services, amplified our voices. These are building
blocks for the future young women want.

·We celebrate the women’s movement
and the social movement for raising the gender issues affecting young women and
girls and leveraging opportunities for young women. We therefore encourage
stronger intergenerational leadership and support of young women’s initiatives.

·We celebrate our sisters, young
women and girls across the continent and in the diaspora, who against all odds
continue to strive for a better life for themselves, their families, nations
and communities. We carry the dreams, hope and dreams of Africa, and of the
world we want as global citizens.

It is with sadness, anger and frustration that:

·Young women remain disempowered
marginalized and excluded. Young women continue to have limited access to
information, training, education and technology. We continue to have limited
access to quality, affordable, youth friendly education, health and legal
services.

·Young people especially those
living in rural communities, in urban slums and refugee and displaced camps
face extreme unacceptable levels of poverty and have the highest levels of
vulnerability particularly young women living with disabilities.

·Many young women living with HIV
in our continent continue to be discriminated against and do not have quality
access to sexual reproductive health services and access to treatment. We know
it is possible to have zero new infections in children and no AIDS related
deaths in our lifetime.

·Many young women on our continent
continue to experience violence in their homes, at school, countries in
conflict, on internet, at the work place, in places of worship, and in
political spaces. Such violence includes incest, rape, verbal abuse, stalking,
emotional and psychological abuse. These are criminal acts that should be
treated as such. Again we continue to have limited access to services for
survivors and victims of violence and unacceptable levels of impunity.

·There
is a lack of quality productive employment and decent jobs with most young
people especially young women being employed in the informal and vulnerable
employment sectors. Beyond jobs, we committed entrepreneurs and innovators,
ready to turn our pain into gain for the continent and for our families.

·Two
thirds of the 40 million African children who do not attend school are girls,
while only about 60 percent of girls who go to primary school and the majority,
53.2 percent of African women are illiterate. Education for girls is the main
key for opening the doors to the future for gender equality.

Our Commitments,

We, the African young women are committed to building a new
narrative for Africa with our skills, expertise and
lived experiences through:

·Our groundedness with our
families, communities and social and economic spaces. Our creativity,
innovation and connectedness in our countries in the regions and beyond.

·Harnessing the power of
technology in shaping a prosperous Africa, and with peace with itself. Effective
participation and contribution in public policy as part of the women and
youth’s movement.

·Speak
out when violated; to educating other young women and girls.

·Being
in solidarity with our sisters globally especially in response to issues of
because of rights.

We therefore
identify the following Priorities and Recommendations:

Priorities and Recommendations

1.Violence against Women and Girls

We want a future free of violence against women and girls at all levels
and in all spaces. We especially call for violence prevention, support to
survivors and victims of violence, access to justice and ending impunity. And
we recommend:

1)The removal of negative cultural and religious practices and norms that
create vulnerability to violence of young women such as child and forced marriage;
and build on the positive cultural religious practices that promote the dignity
and respect for young women and girls.

2)Implementation of laws and policies that protect women’s rights
especially the rights of young women and girls and increase knowledge on human
rights for young people.

3)Increase in access to quality resources and funding for programs
targeted at violence prevention and support to survivors of violence.

4)Creation and support of safe spaces for young women and girls to access
information counseling and referral services.

5)The Adoption of an AU Resolution for all African governments to end
impunity in the fight against sexual violence against women and bring an end to
child marriage.

6)The provision of legal assistance for young women and girls to access
justice and ensure stiff sentences for sexual abusers of girls including
through such measures such as castration.

7)Prioritization of economic empowerment and education for girls as
critical aspects of prevention of violence against women.

2.Health

An
unacceptable number of young women die due to preventable maternal
complications including unsafe abortions. HIV prevalence among young people, teenage
pregnancies and early marriages are still high due to lack of access to sexual
reproductive health information and services. We therefore recommend that:

2)Increase
numbers of motivated and well-resourced health workers; of whom the majority
serving poor communities are young women.

3)Increase
health services for women with disabilities, especially young women and girls
with mental health.

4)Ensure
that resources available globally such as the Global Fund on HIV, malaria and
tuberculosis, the U.N Trust Fund on Violence against women; as well as
development banks at the national, regional development banks must have a
special window to respond to issues of young women and health.

3.Peace & Conflict

Today, as young women
we are hurting together with our sisters in countries that are experiencing
conflict such as Mali, Congo, Central African Republic and Sudan. We remain in
fear of violence for countries going into elections such as Kenya, Zimbabwe,
and Togo. We stand in solidarity with our sisters who are re-building their
communities in post conflict countries such as Liberia, Sierra Léon, Cote de
Ivoire, Burundi among others. Our lives as young women are also threatened by
general levels of criminal behavior, community violence and disasters like
Marikina and religious conflicts like those in the Northern part of Nigeria.
The situation in North Africa remains a concern as Africa finds lasting
solutions to all these problems.

As young women our
dream for Africa is a continent of peace, of coexistence and good
neighborliness. We therefore recommend the following:

1) Young people
should not be exploited for military and political purposes but should be a
resource for building democracy and a just society. Young people should be part
of the mediations in finding lasting solutions in crises

3) The African Union
should appoint a high level special representative for violence against women
and girls and facilitate the effective participation of women in mediation and
conflict resolution.

4) Young people
should be deployed as observers during elections as a contribution to building
the culture of peace.

5) Ensure protection
for young human rights and peace advocates.

4.Education

We recognize that there has been
significant progress in advancing education for girls. However it has focused
mainly on primary education and not sufficiently on vocational and tertiary
education. Education is key to unlocking opportunities for employment,
leadership a life free of violence, empowerment of women.

1)Ensure comprehensive and age
appropriate sexuality education.

2)Promoting sport that focuses on young women as
part of mental, physical and intellectual development.

3)Promote female artisanship, art and
culture as part of passing on the African identity.

4)Resourcing
local learning centers in rural schools including developing rural resource
centers and libraries to give access to information.

5)Languages are the potential in promoting
African identity, and therefore governments should promote indigenous languages
as well as African Union languages from primary education.

5.Economic Empowerment

Economic
empowerment of young people is the bedrock for creating a prosperous Africa,
and especially creating opportunities for entrepreneurship and decent
employment for young women. This can be achieved by:

·Creating a framework to
enable the training of young women in entrepreneurship and the mentorship and Committing
to empower young people by giving them spaces and opportunities to learn and
build capacity through internship programs.

·Ensuring opportunities
for accessing employment and decent jobs.

·Implementing and
enforcing policies that guarantee the right of women to land and property
ownership;

·Governments must adapt
policies that protect the rights of Domestic Workers that prevent labor
exploitation.

·Improving right of
girls and women to inherent and own property.

6.Leadership

Young women are
leaders of today and not tomorrow. Today the leadership of young people remains
invisible in public institutions, the private sector, media organizations and
civil society and women’s networks. Yet, young people have ideas, expertise and
experience that can shape democracy and civic engagement for the achievement of
a transformative agenda. This can be achieved through:

·Shifts
in attitudes that leadership is about knowledge, commitment, responsibility,
trust and lived experiences and young people can be trusted and therefore young
people can be given leadership opportunities.

·Internship
and fellowship programs for young women within the AU and other institutions at
all levels

·Inter-generational
leadership for building structures that groom leaders.

·Creation
of a fund at regional level specifically aimed at empowering young women.

·Encouraging
government to appoint ambassadors for women and girls as an advocacy and policy
strategy for the African Decade for Women.

·Leadership
of Africa to be exemplary.

Conclusion

In conclusion we would like
to thank the World YWCA for convening this summit. We also would want to extend
our sincere appreciation to our partners who have shown great commitment in
supporting young women’s leadership, namely: U.N Women, Urgent Action Fund
Africa, UNFPA, Angie Brookes. FAS, Girls Not Brides, The Partnership of
Maternal, New-born and Child Health, Action Aid and others that have not been
mentioned. As young women we are committed to moving this agenda forward with
support from the women’s movements and our partners.

We the young women from more than
20 countries convened in the Young Women’s Forum on 21 January 2013 the margins
of the 20th African Union Summit under the theme: “Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance”,
committed to defining the future we want.

We are women, we are citizens and
we are young. We come in our diversity as young women who are single, married,
widowed, we are mothers and sisters. We are working women, we are
entrepreneurs, innovators, unemployed, we are living in the streets and we are in
international business. We come with our diversity of sexual identity, we are
women in sex work, we are women living positively with HIV; and disabilities,
we are migrants, we are refugees and we are from the diaspora. We are Africa.
We draw on the aspirations of our ancestors, the richness of our cultures and
the roundedness in the spirit of Ubuntu.

As young women we celebrate:

·We celebrate, the African Union
for the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality and the Africa Protocol on
Women’s Rights in Africa; as well as the Africa Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child. We want to celebrate the application of the gender parity
principle in the African Union Commission.

·We celebrate Africa for trusting
a capable African leader, mother and elder, Dr Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma, the
first woman to lead the African Union Commission. We commit our availability,
expertise, commitment and support in leading African Renaissance.

·We celebrate the recent trend in
increased numbers of women in senior leadership positions such as Heads of
State; in parliaments, commissions, in diplomatic services and other spaces of
decision making in our communities. However, this trend is too slow and
insufficient considering that women comprise fifty two percent of the
population. Increased number of women in decision making encourages young women
and girls to aspire on their own dreams.

·We celebrate the positive strides
in progress in education for the girls; the reduction in prevalence in HIV
especially among women, some notable increase access of health facilities in
some countries. Technology and mobile telephony has increased access to
information, access to services, amplified our voices. These are building
blocks for the future young women want.

·We celebrate the women’s movement
and the social movement for raising the gender issues affecting young women and
girls and leveraging opportunities for young women. We therefore encourage
stronger intergenerational leadership and support of young women’s initiatives.

·We celebrate our sisters, young
women and girls across the continent and in the diaspora, who against all odds
continue to strive for a better life for themselves, their families, nations
and communities. We carry the dreams, hope and dreams of Africa, and of the
world we want as global citizens.

It is with sadness, anger and frustration that:

·Young women remain disempowered
marginalized and excluded. Young women continue to have limited access to
information, training, education and technology. We continue to have limited
access to quality, affordable, youth friendly education, health and legal
services.

·Young people especially those
living in rural communities, in urban slums and refugee and displaced camps
face extreme unacceptable levels of poverty and have the highest levels of
vulnerability particularly young women living with disabilities.

·Many young women living with HIV
in our continent continue to be discriminated against and do not have quality
access to sexual reproductive health services and access to treatment. We know
it is possible to have zero new infections in children and no AIDS related
deaths in our lifetime.

·Many young women on our continent
continue to experience violence in their homes, at school, countries in
conflict, on internet, at the work place, in places of worship, and in
political spaces. Such violence includes incest, rape, verbal abuse, stalking,
emotional and psychological abuse. These are criminal acts that should be
treated as such. Again we continue to have limited access to services for
survivors and victims of violence and unacceptable levels of impunity.

·There
is a lack of quality productive employment and decent jobs with most young
people especially young women being employed in the informal and vulnerable
employment sectors. Beyond jobs, we committed entrepreneurs and innovators,
ready to turn our pain into gain for the continent and for our families.

·Two
thirds of the 40 million African children who do not attend school are girls,
while only about 60 percent of girls who go to primary school and the majority,
53.2 percent of African women are illiterate. Education for girls is the main
key for opening the doors to the future for gender equality.

Our Commitments,

We, the African young women are committed to building a new
narrative for Africa with our skills, expertise and
lived experiences through:

·Our groundedness with our
families, communities and social and economic spaces. Our creativity,
innovation and connectedness in our countries in the regions and beyond.

·Harnessing the power of
technology in shaping a prosperous Africa, and with peace with itself. Effective
participation and contribution in public policy as part of the women and
youth’s movement.

·Speak
out when violated; to educating other young women and girls.

·Being
in solidarity with our sisters globally especially in response to issues of
because of rights.

We therefore
identify the following Priorities and Recommendations:

Priorities and Recommendations

1.Violence against Women and Girls

We want a future free of violence against women and girls at all levels
and in all spaces. We especially call for violence prevention, support to
survivors and victims of violence, access to justice and ending impunity. And
we recommend:

1)The removal of negative cultural and religious practices and norms that
create vulnerability to violence of young women such as child and forced marriage;
and build on the positive cultural religious practices that promote the dignity
and respect for young women and girls.

2)Implementation of laws and policies that protect women’s rights
especially the rights of young women and girls and increase knowledge on human
rights for young people.

3)Increase in access to quality resources and funding for programs
targeted at violence prevention and support to survivors of violence.

4)Creation and support of safe spaces for young women and girls to access
information counseling and referral services.

5)The Adoption of an AU Resolution for all African governments to end
impunity in the fight against sexual violence against women and bring an end to
child marriage.

6)The provision of legal assistance for young women and girls to access
justice and ensure stiff sentences for sexual abusers of girls including
through such measures such as castration.

7)Prioritization of economic empowerment and education for girls as
critical aspects of prevention of violence against women.

2.Health

An
unacceptable number of young women die due to preventable maternal
complications including unsafe abortions. HIV prevalence among young people, teenage
pregnancies and early marriages are still high due to lack of access to sexual
reproductive health information and services. We therefore recommend that:

2)Increase
numbers of motivated and well-resourced health workers; of whom the majority
serving poor communities are young women.

3)Increase
health services for women with disabilities, especially young women and girls
with mental health.

4)Ensure
that resources available globally such as the Global Fund on HIV, malaria and
tuberculosis, the U.N Trust Fund on Violence against women; as well as
development banks at the national, regional development banks must have a
special window to respond to issues of young women and health.

3.Peace & Conflict

Today, as young women
we are hurting together with our sisters in countries that are experiencing
conflict such as Mali, Congo, Central African Republic and Sudan. We remain in
fear of violence for countries going into elections such as Kenya, Zimbabwe,
and Togo. We stand in solidarity with our sisters who are re-building their
communities in post conflict countries such as Liberia, Sierra Léon, Cote de
Ivoire, Burundi among others. Our lives as young women are also threatened by
general levels of criminal behavior, community violence and disasters like
Marikina and religious conflicts like those in the Northern part of Nigeria.
The situation in North Africa remains a concern as Africa finds lasting
solutions to all these problems.

As young women our
dream for Africa is a continent of peace, of coexistence and good
neighborliness. We therefore recommend the following:

1) Young people
should not be exploited for military and political purposes but should be a
resource for building democracy and a just society. Young people should be part
of the mediations in finding lasting solutions in crises

3) The African Union
should appoint a high level special representative for violence against women
and girls and facilitate the effective participation of women in mediation and
conflict resolution.

4) Young people
should be deployed as observers during elections as a contribution to building
the culture of peace.

5) Ensure protection
for young human rights and peace advocates.

4.Education

We recognize that there has been
significant progress in advancing education for girls. However it has focused
mainly on primary education and not sufficiently on vocational and tertiary
education. Education is key to unlocking opportunities for employment,
leadership a life free of violence, empowerment of women.

1)Ensure comprehensive and age
appropriate sexuality education.

2)Promoting sport that focuses on young women as
part of mental, physical and intellectual development.

3)Promote female artisanship, art and
culture as part of passing on the African identity.

4)Resourcing
local learning centers in rural schools including developing rural resource
centers and libraries to give access to information.

5)Languages are the potential in promoting
African identity, and therefore governments should promote indigenous languages
as well as African Union languages from primary education.

5.Economic Empowerment

Economic
empowerment of young people is the bedrock for creating a prosperous Africa,
and especially creating opportunities for entrepreneurship and decent
employment for young women. This can be achieved by:

·Creating a framework to
enable the training of young women in entrepreneurship and the mentorship and Committing
to empower young people by giving them spaces and opportunities to learn and
build capacity through internship programs.

·Ensuring opportunities
for accessing employment and decent jobs.

·Implementing and
enforcing policies that guarantee the right of women to land and property
ownership;

·Governments must adapt
policies that protect the rights of Domestic Workers that prevent labor
exploitation.

·Improving right of
girls and women to inherent and own property.

6.Leadership

Young women are
leaders of today and not tomorrow. Today the leadership of young people remains
invisible in public institutions, the private sector, media organizations and
civil society and women’s networks. Yet, young people have ideas, expertise and
experience that can shape democracy and civic engagement for the achievement of
a transformative agenda. This can be achieved through:

·Shifts
in attitudes that leadership is about knowledge, commitment, responsibility,
trust and lived experiences and young people can be trusted and therefore young
people can be given leadership opportunities.

·Internship
and fellowship programs for young women within the AU and other institutions at
all levels

·Inter-generational
leadership for building structures that groom leaders.

·Creation
of a fund at regional level specifically aimed at empowering young women.

·Encouraging
government to appoint ambassadors for women and girls as an advocacy and policy
strategy for the African Decade for Women.

·Leadership
of Africa to be exemplary.

Conclusion

In conclusion we would like
to thank the World YWCA for convening this summit. We also would want to extend
our sincere appreciation to our partners who have shown great commitment in
supporting young women’s leadership, namely: U.N Women, Urgent Action Fund
Africa, UNFPA, Angie Brookes. FAS, Girls Not Brides, The Partnership of
Maternal, New-born and Child Health, Action Aid and others that have not been
mentioned. As young women we are committed to moving this agenda forward with
support from the women’s movements and our partners.